A Surprise Is Waiting at the Lowest Point in the World

Four large passenger planes will land at Ben-Gurion International Airport and the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, will emerge from one of them, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, the French finance minister, members of the National Assembly, 70 senior executives, dozens of journalists, hundreds of aides, and the famous French singer Enrique Mesias.

The huge delegation will be arriving for a two-day official presidential visit, which the French hope will overshadow even the recent visit by George W. Bush. Sarkozy and President Shimon Peres want to make this visit even bigger, more impressive and more royal.

On the first day of his presidential visit, Sarkozy will meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and then tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

But the second day will hold the surprise, revealed here for the first time: The entire delegation will go to the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, to meet with King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

And then, there on the shore of the Dead Sea, Peres will make a festive announcement of the launch of his huge project: the Peace Channel, which will connect the Dead and Red Seas.

Sarkozy has already committed to take part in the project.

After all, it was a French company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps that built the Suez Canal in the mid-19th century.

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